Japanese Government Promoting Easier Distrbution of Video Content

In a move to bolster the promotion of TV and Video content to the web, a Japanese government panel is recommending that regulations be changed to allow webmasters to upload video content without first having to get permission from all rights holders.

The government is not advocating the theft -or- unauthorized use of content as their proposed regulations call for webmasters to ensure that the rights holder's receive royalty payments for their webcast content.

Current regulations surrounding content / intellectual property are quite cumbersome in Japan and this rule change is part of a broader efforts to reform all Intellectual property laws there while maintaining fairness for rights holder's. The effort is being led by Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.


All I can say is "Way to go, Japan!!" The US Government and their ridiculously laughable efforts at legislating Digital Rights Management / Intellectual Property Reform could learn a great deal from this kind of open, yet fair approach!!!


Technorati Tags: DRM, Japan, Intellectual Property, Openess, Internet, TV, Regulation

A Strange Intersection of Surveillance & DRM Technology

There was fascinating article in the NY Times about video/content recognition software - a utility typically used for video surveillance systems.

This article showcased an interesting twist on its use...Cracking Down on, and preventing Online Video Piracy (DRM) !

Essentially, this California company demonstrated its software running while viewing YouTube. One clip of an illegal movie upload, even while distorted, in black-and-white, and overdubbed from a video pirate, was immediately and correctly identified - by its exact scene.

Hearkening back to the Sony Root-Kit debacle, I shudder to think what a big media company wouldn't give to be able to distribute a root-level application to users that "watches and listens" to content to make sure it's been validated. If Vista checks up on your drivers a gazillion times a minute, it's certainly not too much to imagine it checking up on your media too.